Glencore Share Price Today: Ulan Coal Ruling, New Copper Discovery and Buyback Drive

Glencore plc (LON: GLEN) spent Tuesday trading lower in London as investors weighed a fresh legal setback for one of its Australian coal mines, upbeat copper exploration news near its Mount Isa operations and the continued impact of its $1 billion share buyback programme.

Glencore share price on 18 November 2025

As of late morning in London on Tuesday, 18 November 2025, Glencore shares were changing hands at around 359p on the London Stock Exchange, down roughly 1–1.5% from Monday’s close of 363.85p. Data from the Financial Timesshows the stock quoted at 359.05p, a daily move of -4.80p (-1.32%), with a 52‑week range of 205.00p to 397.40p and a market capitalisation of about £42.9 billion. ^[1]

Glencore’s own investor website recorded a very similar picture, listing an LSE price of 359.60p at 10:30 GMT, down 4.25p on the day, underlining the mild risk‑off tone in UK mining stocks. ^[2]

End‑of‑day data from broker Hargreaves Lansdown shows that Glencore opened at 355.00p, traded between 351.45p and 360.50p, and closed near 359p, on volume of just over 8.2 million shares. ^[3] Over a longer horizon the stock has been far more rewarding: Hargreaves Lansdown calculates a five‑year gain of about 88.8%, putting Glencore among the stronger performers in the FTSE 100 over that period. ^[4]

In the broader European context, a midday market briefing from Morningstar/Dow Jones noted that European equities were generally lower on Tuesday, with mining stocks under pressure. In London, heavyweight miners Anglo American and BHP led declines, while Glencore and Rio Tinto posted smaller losses, making Glencore a relative outperformer within a weak sector. ^[5]

Climate ruling clouds outlook for Glencore’s Ulan coal mine extension

The biggest Glencore‑specific headline of the day came out of New South Wales, Australia. A high‑stakes climate court battle has upended Glencore’s plans to extend its Ulan thermal coal mine near Mudgee, adding to the regulatory pressure on the company’s coal portfolio.

An article in the Mudgee Guardian on Tuesday reports that the NSW Land and Environment Court has revoked the state approval for an extension of the Ulan Coal Mine, leaving the future of the project uncertain. ^[6]The struck‑down approval would have allowed Glencore to extract an additional 18.8 million tonnes of coal over a relatively short extension period. ^[7]

The case forms part of a growing wave of climate litigation targeting coal expansions in Australia. Legal commentary circulating around the decision highlights that the court’s orders were made by consent, effectively accepting arguments that the prior approval did not adequately grapple with climate impacts and policy. ^[8]

For Glencore, the Ulan ruling is significant even if the tonnage involved is modest in the context of a group that mined nearly 100 million tonnes of thermal coal in 2024. ^[9] It underscores the rising legal and social risk around coal, especially in advanced economies where courts and regulators are increasingly willing to scrutinise approvals through a climate lens. Investors already nervous about future coal cash‑flows will likely read the ruling as another data point supporting Glencore’s gradual shift toward transition metals and away from thermal coal over the longer term.

New “once‑in‑a‑lifetime” copper discovery near Glencore‑backed Mount Isa play

Balancing that negative coal headline, copper exploration news out of Queensland was notably upbeat. Regional Australian outlets reported on Tuesday that True North Copper has announced a “once‑in‑a‑lifetime” copper discovery at its Aquila prospect near Mount Isa, in the state’s North‑West Minerals Province. ^[10]

Coverage in The Cairns Post and industry publications describes the Aquila discovery as being at the company’s Mt Oxide project, roughly 140 kilometres north of Mount Isa, and notes that some of the drill results rank among the strongest copper intercepts reported in Australia this year. ^[11] True North Copper is frequently characterised as Glencore‑backed, reflecting commercial links between the junior and Glencore’s existing infrastructure in the region. ^[12]

While the discovery belongs to True North Copper rather than Glencore itself, the news is strategically important for Glencore’s Australian copper business:

Glencore operates the Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery, key hubs for processing ore from across the province. ^[13]
In October, Argus Media reported that the Australian federal and Queensland state governments agreed to provide up to A$600 million (around US$395 million) over three years to help keep Glencore’s Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery running and to fund upgrades and a “transformation study”. ^[14]

Any substantial new copper source in the region, even if not owned by Glencore, supports the case for maintaining that processing network, potentially boosting throughput and strengthening Glencore’s position as a key copper concentrator and marketer in Australasia.

Argentina policy shift could favour Glencore’s El Pachón project

Another piece of copper‑related news with Glencore links emerged from Argentina on Tuesday.

A report from Argus Media on proposed changes to Argentina’s glacier protection framework highlights that major copper projects in San Juan province, including Glencore’s El Pachón and BHP/Lundin’s Vicuña, are located near glacier zones. ^[15]

While the legal details are still evolving, Argus notes that a policy shift on how resources beneath or near protected glacial areas are counted and accessed could materially increase the recognised resource base for such projects if implemented. ^[16]

For Glencore, El Pachón is a large, long‑dated copper option rather than a near‑term cash generator. But anything that improves regulatory clarity and potential resource tonnage around the project strengthens the attractiveness of its pipeline at a time when copper is widely forecast to remain tight due to under‑investment and rising demand from electrification. ^[17]

$1 billion buyback continues to underpin Glencore’s stock

Today’s trading in Glencore also needs to be seen against the backdrop of a sizeable share buyback programme that is actively shrinking the company’s equity base.

On 7 July 2025, Glencore announced the start of a 2025/2026 share buy‑back programme of up to US$1 billion, to be conducted via market purchases of its ordinary shares, with completion targeted by the release of its full‑year 2025 results in February 2026. The programme is being executed by UBS AG London Branch and is explicitly intended to reduce the company’s share capital, with repurchased shares generally held in treasury. ^[18]

The buyback is funded in part by the proceeds of Glencore’s reshaped agribusiness exposure following the completion of the Bunge–Viterra merger. Reuters reported in July that Glencore would receive a 16.4% stake in the enlarged Bunge and around US$900 million in cash, and that management regarded the Bunge stake as excess capital to be recycled via buybacks. ^[19]

The market is being kept informed through a series of “Transaction in Own Shares” regulatory filings. The latest notice, dated 17 November 2025, confirms continued daily purchases of Glencore shares under the programme, with trades executed on multiple venues by UBS in line with EU and UK market abuse regulations. ^[20]

From an investor’s perspective, the buyback has two key implications:

Per‑share metrics support – Reducing the share count can boost earnings per share over time, especially if Glencore executes at what it sees as a discount to intrinsic value.
Price cushioning – A price‑sensitive, rules‑based buyer like UBS in the market each day can help absorb selling pressure, even if it doesn’t fully offset macro‑driven swings.

The roughly 89% total return over five years highlighted by Hargreaves Lansdown reflects a mix of these capital returns and dividends alongside commodity‑driven share price moves. ^[21]

Smelting under pressure: Horne and the global copper story

Beyond today’s headlines, investors are still digesting earlier November news about Glencore’s smelting footprint, which hangs over the medium‑term outlook and helps explain market sensitivity to regulatory and cost updates.

On 3 November 2025, Reuters reported that Glencore is planning to close its Horne copper smelter and the associated Canadian Copper Refinery (CCR) in Quebec, Canada’s largest copper‑metal producing operations, due to the need for more than US$200 million in environmental and modernization spending and a severe squeeze in custom smelting margins. ^[22] The article noted that the facilities, which employ over 1,000 people and process both concentrates and electronic scrap, are key suppliers of copper to the United States. ^[23]

Glencore has publicly denied that closure is currently being considered, telling Canadian media that it continues to implement its emissions‑reduction plan at Horne and CCR while working with stakeholders to preserve operations. ^[24]

Whatever the eventual outcome, the episode highlights several structural themes that remain front‑of‑mind for Glencore shareholders today:

Environmental compliance is getting more expensive, particularly for older smelters like Horne, which has faced lawsuits over arsenic emissions. ^[25]
Custom smelter economics are weak – treatment and refining charges have, at times, turned negative, meaning smelters effectively pay miners to secure concentrate. ^[26]
Glencore is continuing to reshape its asset base, having already sold the Pasar copper refinery in the Philippines and reviewing other industrial assets with the aim of saving US$1 billion by the end of 2026. ^[27]

These pressures feed into today’s share‑price reaction whenever new regulatory or cost‑related headlines emerge, such as the Ulan court ruling and evolving policy in Argentina.

Management messaging: critical minerals and carbon markets in focus today

Even as markets react to legal and operational headlines, Glencore executives were out on the conference circuit on 18 November, helping to shape the narrative around critical minerals and climate policy.

In Toronto, Zachary Mayer, Vice President for Sudbury Operations at Glencore, delivered a keynote titled “Positioning Ontario in the Global Critical Minerals Race: A Miner’s Perspective” at the Ontario Critical Minerals Forum, held on Tuesday morning. ^[28]
In Europe, Glencore’s Head of Carbon Portfolio, Juan Carlos Parreno, was listed as a speaker at an IFRI event on international carbon credits and the EU’s 2040 climate target, scheduled for Tuesday 18 November 2025. ^[29]
Separately, Glencore Technology is among the participants in a “Circularity” plenary session at the Extraction 2025 conference, also set for Tuesday, focusing on recycling and the circular economy in metals and mining. ^[30]

Taken together, these appearances reinforce a strategic pivot narrative: Glencore wants to be seen not only as a coal and base‑metals producer and trader, but also as a critical‑minerals supplier and circular‑economy player engaged in climate policy debates and carbon markets.

What today’s news means for Glencore shareholders

Putting all of 18 November’s developments together, several themes stand out for anyone following Glencore plc (GLEN.L):

Short‑term trading: The share price drift lower around 359p reflects broader weakness in European equities and mining stocks rather than a company‑specific collapse. Glencore remains mid‑range in its 52‑week trading band. ^[31]
Regulatory risk on coal: The Ulan court decision is a reminder that coal projects face intensifying legal and policy risk, which can derail planned volumes and capital spending even late in the approvals process. ^[32]
Copper growth optionality: News of True North Copper’s discovery near Mount Isa and possible regulatory tailwinds for El Pachón in Argentina both underline the depth of copper opportunities around Glencore’s global footprint, even if some are indirect or long‑dated. ^[33]
Capital returns as a cushion: The ongoing US$1 billion buyback is steadily shrinking the share count and signalling management’s confidence in the company’s valuation, providing a partial buffer against commodity‑driven volatility. ^[34]
Smelting and ESG pressures: Debates over the Horne smelter and emissions issues more broadly continue to shape perceptions of Glencore’s environmental footprint and future capital needs. ^[35]

For now, Glencore remains a high‑beta play on global commodities, particularly copper and coal, with a share price that can move meaningfully on legal, policy and macro headlines — as Tuesday’s mix of climate rulings, exploration news and policy signals illustrates.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always conduct your own research or consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.

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